Fishing Has No Boundaries to host third annual event

Tamara Browning Staff Writer @tambrowningSJR

Friday

Sep 13, 2019 at 6:25 PM

A nonprofit volunteer organization that provides recreational fishing opportunities for people with disabilities in central Illinois will present its third annual fishing event rain or shine on Sept. 21.

FISHING HAS NO BOUNDARIES, CAPITAL CITY CHAPTER, will host its fishing event at the TRN Club, 25 Lakewood Drive in Chatham. There will be 50 people with disabilities who will participate.

Among participants will be five residents from the Mary Bryant Home for the Blind and Visually Impaired. AMY LAWRENCE, the home’s activity director, said that Fishing Has No Boundaries’ fishing day is a “really awesome event. My residents love it.”

“My residents love the idea of just getting out and being able to go, that it is accessible for everybody to be able to attend. That’s what they love the most about it,” Lawrence said.

“They obviously like fishing as well, but it’s more the inclusion factor that no matter who you are or what kind of disability you have that they include everybody, and they’re very nice about it, and they try to tell them in extreme detail what’s going on.”

Open to people with disabilities regardless of their disabilities, race, age or gender, the annual event is a full day of fishing from boats on Lake Springfield. Participants meet boat captains and fishing guides. Volunteers and wheelchair ramps assist participants in boarding their boats. No fishing experience is required. A fishing buddy/guide will be on each boat.

This year, there will be 23 pontoon boats and about 30 fishing guides.

MARY ANN GEBAUER, co-chair of Fishing Has No Boundaries, Capital City Chapter, said the community has been generous with its support.

“We, through grants and from sponsorships, now have all of our own equipment, all of our own poles and life vests, and we have some handicapped-accessible ramps to help get wheelchairs on boats,” Gebauer said.

“We also got a grant for … like a rollout mat that you put in the grass. That makes it easier for wheelchairs and people to walk. It takes the bumpiness off the ground, so it’s a nice, stable walkway for them to get around on. Last year, we had a very generous family who gave us a trailer to keep all our equipment in.”

The well-organized program and the number of volunteers who help with the event make things easier for residents who participate from the Mary Bryant Home, Lawrence said.

“The volunteers are wonderful,” Lawrence said. “For me and my assistant to go take residents on the water would be kind of hard. We could only take like maybe two people. This way we can double the amount of people we’re taking, and we know that everybody is going to be safe.”

Lawrence said she enjoys going with the residents to watch them have fun.

“It’s also really fun for them because they don’t have any kind stress. It’s all about having fun. It’s about how many fish can you catch, and don’t worry if you don’t get any at all. It’s a very positive program,” Lawrence said.

For more information, call the Capital City Chapter at 341-5747 or email CapitalCityFHNB@gmail.com. The website is www.CapitalCityFHNB.org. The chapter is also on Facebook.

Monetary donations to help cover the cost of rentals such as a tent, tables and chairs, plus with serving three meals, are welcomed (Subway is donating 200 lunches for this year’s event). Donations and sponsorships are welcomed. Donations may be made on the website and through Facebook.

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